How to set up chess pieces on a board: the complete guide

Setting up the chess board: the first step

Before placing a single piece, you need to orient the board correctly. This is a very common mistake among beginners.

The board has 64 squares arranged in 8 files (from a to h) and 8 ranks (from 1 to 8). White occupies ranks 1 and 2, Black ranks 7 and 8. All the major pieces go on the first rank, the pawns on the second.

How to set up the pawns

Pawns are the most numerous pieces: each player has 8 of them. They’re also the smallest pieces in the game. They form the first line of defence in front of your major pieces.

This is the first thing to do: placing the pawns first clears the view and makes it easier to set up the other pieces behind them.

How to set up the rooks

Each player has 2 rooks. These are usually the tallest pieces after the king, shaped like a castle turret.

Rooks are powerful pieces that move in a straight line — horizontally and vertically — as many squares as they wish. Their position in the corners will matter later for castling.

How to set up the knights

Knights are the pieces shaped like a horse’s head. Each player has 2. They are the only pieces that can jump over others.

Knights move in an « L » shape: two squares in one direction then one square at right angles (or the reverse). It’s the only piece that can jump over the pawns on the first move.

How to set up the bishops

Bishops are the pieces with a pointed tip (or rounded, depending on the style). Each player has 2: one that stays on the light squares for the whole game, the other on the dark squares.

Bishops move only diagonally, as many squares as they wish. They never change the colour of square they’re on throughout the game.

How to set up the queen

The queen is the most powerful piece in the game. Each player has only one. It’s often the tallest piece after the king, topped with a crown.

The queen combines the moves of the rook and the bishop: she can move in any direction (horizontal, vertical, diagonal) as many squares as she wishes.

How to set up the king

The king is the most important piece in the game — if your king is checkmated, the game is over. Each player has only one. It’s recognisable by the cross on top (unlike the queen’s crown).

The king moves one square in any direction. Despite its limited mobility, the whole game revolves around protecting it. It’s the only piece that can never be captured — once it’s trapped (checkmate), the game stops.

Summary: position of every piece

Here’s a summary table of each piece’s starting square for both players:

The FEN notation for the starting position, explained simply

The starting position is written in FEN (Forsyth-Edwards Notation): rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1. This short string of characters describes the location of every piece and allows an electronic chess board or training app to reconstruct the position in an instant.

• The letters: each piece has an initial (r = rook, n = knight, b = bishop, q = queen, k = king, p = pawn).
• Upper or lower case: white pieces are written in upper case, black pieces in lower case.
• The forward slash « / »: it separates each rank, from the 8th (black pieces) to the 1st (white pieces).
• The number 8: it signals eight empty squares in a row, as on ranks 3 to 6, which are completely free at kick-off.
• « w KQkq – 0 1 »: « w » indicates that White plays the first move, « KQkq » that kingside and queenside castling remain available for both sides, and the final figures count the moves played.

This is especially useful with an electronic chess board or a playing app: it lets you check at a glance that the position shown matches the official starting set-up.

Check your set-up

Before you start playing, get into the habit of checking these points:

• Both sides must be a mirror image of one another — each white piece faces its black equivalent.
• The white queen faces the black queen, and likewise for the kings.
• If your queen and king are swapped, the whole symmetry is thrown off. Check the rule « queen on her colour ».
• White always moves first. Once the set-up is checked, the player with White opens the game.

The most common set-up mistakes

Swapping the king and queen

This is beginners’ mistake number one. The king and queen go in the centre of the first rank, on the d and e files. If you swap them, your whole layout is thrown off. Remember: the queen always goes on the square of her own colour.

Orienting the board incorrectly

If the bottom-right corner square is dark, your board is turned 90°. All your pieces will technically be misplaced. Check before you start: bottom-right corner = white square.

Mixing up the knight and the bishop

The knight (horse’s head) goes next to the rook, the bishop next to the knight towards the centre. The order from the corner is always: Rook — Knight — Bishop — Queen/King.

Ready to play? Choose your chess board

Now that you know how to set up the pieces, all you need is a beautiful chess board to put it into practice! Discover our selection:

• ♔ Complete chess setsMatching pieces and board, ready to play
• ♖ Chess boardsSolid wood, marble, leather
• ♕ Chess setsFrom the classic Staunton to original designs
• ♘ Folding setsHandy for beginners and travel

To find out more, see our complete guide to the rules of chess, which covers how each piece moves, special moves, and the most frequently asked questions.